


The Haunted House

by SeeMaree



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amusement Parks, F/M, Haunted Houses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 19:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20087266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeeMaree/pseuds/SeeMaree
Summary: Response to the prompt: i got scared at the pitch-black haunted house and accidentally grabbed your hand, thinking it was my friends’





	The Haunted House

This is the worst day ever.

Peeta feels like a fool. He’s sixteen not six, and yet his parents think he’s too young to go to an amusement park with his friends, on the day that half the school plans on going. Oh no, he has to wait until the following weekend when his brother can take him. Which is such a joke. As soon as they pass through the entrance Rye takes off with his friends, leaving Peeta wandering around alone, like the biggest loser in the world. The guy who can’t even round up a friend to go to Six Flags with him.

Pathetic.

He slouches around for a while, feeling like a creeper as he watches people with friends and families having fun and finally decides to just go on some rides. Of course he forgot that when he gets to the head of a line he’s subjected to a special kind of humiliation.

“Riding single,” the operator calls out, and then shoves him in with some family, the parents take one look at him and the dad switches seats with the daughter so she doesn’t have to sit next to him. Nice.

After that fun experience he decides to head over to the haunted house. At least it’s dark in there so he won’t have to see people staring at him. He stands in line trying to tell himself that strangers aren’t pitying him, when he feels a tap on the shoulder.

“Peeta?” a voice asks, and hell, if he thought his day couldn’t get any worse he thought wrong. Because it’s Katniss Everdeen, the girl he’s had a crush on since kindergarten, and she’s here to witness his pathetic friendlessness. At least she’s not with a guy. He can’t think of anything more hellish than bumping into her like this when she’s on a date. It’s just her and her little sister, who smiles at him and chatters to about how much she likes this ride. 

He’s always completely tongue tied around Katniss but he can manage to smile and nod while she and her sister tease each other. And while he’s still mumbling and blushing they reach the head of the line. 

The operator gives them a bored look and gestures the three of them into the front of a car. Prim bounces on the seat in excitement. As the lights dim and the eerie noises begin, she grabs his arm.

“Switch with me, I wanna be on the side for when the skeleton jumps out.” Before he can reply she’s clambering over him, so he slides across the seat next to Katniss. He’s careful not to brush against her, he may look like a creeper today, but he’s certainly not going to act like one. 

It’s hard to pay attention to the manufactured frights with the girl of his dreams sitting two inches away, so he doesn’t even know what causes her to let out a squeal and lunge toward him, putting her hand over his on the bar. She did that right, it was all her? It’s okay if she initiates it? Because Katniss Everdeen is holding his hand and leaning against him and it may be the best moment of his entire life.

And then it’s not. He feels her whole body go stiff, because damn, she didn’t realise it was him, she never saw him switch with her sister. He waits for her to yelp and leap away from him. But but for some strange and wonderful reason she doesn’t. Her body relaxes, and she straightens away from him a little, but her hand still rests on top of his. He wishes madly that it wasn’t pitch black in here and he could see her face. 

Cautiously he turns his hand over and then they are actually for really real holding hands and she still doesn’t pull away. She’s brushing her fingertips against his, and he was wrong a minute ago, because this is the best moment of his entire life.

The ride ends far too soon, and he expects her to drop his hand like a hot potato as soon as the lights come up, but she hangs on tightly, and Peeta is starting to wonder if this is happening or if he fell out of the car and hit his head or something. 

Prim has her phone out as they walk out and Peeta is glad she’s not paying attention to them, he doesn’t think he can handle a twelve year old’s scrutiny right now.

“Hey, I don’t want to leave you all alone, but Rue just got here and she wants to go on some rides,” Prim says, looking up finally. “You can come too,” and then her eyes widen as she takes in their still linked hands, “or perhaps you just want to hang out with Peeta?” Peeta can feel himself turning red, curse his pale skin, and the younger girl grins madly. 

“Go have fun,” Katniss snaps, “I’ll text you.” 

Prim gives them another knowing smile before she turns away. Leaving Peeta standing there, holding hands with his dream girl and he still can’t seem to get a word out.

Katniss turns to him and unlike the giant tomato he turns into when he blushes, she only has a beautiful warm flush on her cheeks. 

“So um, I guess I kind of like you?” she asks and he hopes he manages to look slightly dignified, because did she just say that? Katniss Everdeen likes him! He wants to swing from the fake Victorian lamp posts like Gene Kelly.

Somehow he manages to choke out, “Me too,” although it may be unintelligible. 

She looks down and shuffles her feet. “So, um, I’ve never really been on a date, I don’t know what to do,” and she cuts him a look through her eyelashes. And just like that all his awkwardness falls away. Because she is just as nervous and embarrassed as he his.

“We have fun and go on rides, and if I have a really good time I may let you kiss me goodnight.” 

She smiles and she is radiant, and he feels awe that she’s smiling like that because of him.

This is the best day ever.

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot I ever wrote this! Dug up from my tumblr to post here finally.


End file.
